Road test: 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid

Road test: 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid

The first question many people have when considering a hybrid car is whether the extra initial cost can be recovered, over the years, by savings on gasoline.

The answer? No — unless you kept the car for about 10 years and rolled up the kilometres delivering pizzas or passengers. And by the time you made up the savings, the car would be worn out.

Don’t get us wrong: Gasoline-electric cars make sense. They reduce emissions, cut our dependence on oil and ease our conscience. They make us feel as though we’re doing something for the environment, even if it’s not by the tonne.

And with automakers committing to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the cars they sell in Canada by 5.3 megatonnes a year by 2010, we’re certain to see more of them.

Whether hybrids are the future of the automobile or the answer to our motoring problems remains to be seen, however, as hydrogen technology continues to make gains. For now at least, gasoline-electric hybrids are a smart, sensible alternative and getting simpler by the year.

Which is how Honda’s 2005 Accord Hybrid might best be described. This is a complex car made simple. Only a tiny Hybrid badge on the trunk lid, different rims, a narrow rear spoiler and a slightly different instrument cluster reveal to the driver and outside world that this is not your average Accord.

In fact, stand on the gas and this five-seater shoots out of the driveway faster than the regular Accord V-6. From a standstill, 100 km/h comes up in the 255-horsepower Hybrid in just under seven seconds, a few tenths of a second quicker than the EX sedan.

There’s a good growl to the engine, too, though torque steer can be felt tugging on the steering wheel as the front tires squeal all the way up to second gear.

Honda estimates fuel consumption will be as miserly as the smaller Civic, averaging 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres in the city and 5.9 on the highway — though in a week of winter testing we managed no better than an average of 12.3 L/100 km.

Honda says Transport Canada’s numbers mirror the company’s own figures. Spokesman Richard Jacobs says cold weather (which is when our testing took place) will hurt fuel economy, as will “driving behaviour” and prolonged idling. OK, so we didn’t exactly pamper the Hybrid, and we did let it warm up for some time on those -20 mornings. Note to selves: Call Honda to book summer test.

Inside the Hybrid, the only differences to the dashboard are a little bar graph below the main gauge cluster that shows when the battery is giving or taking electricity, and a small icon showing how much charge is left in the battery.

This simple setup is in stark contrast to Ford and Toyota hybrids, where complicated monitors illustrate, in cartoon fashion, whether the engine is sipping gasoline or pinching electricity — fun for the first few hours, then tedious.

Honda’s hybrid technology is further set apart in that it doesn’t use the battery’s electricity to exclusively propel the car. The battery merely feeds the electric motor that will assist the gasoline engine.

Out on the road, the Accord Hybrid feels and drives almost like the standard sedan. The major difference is that the Hybrid’s engine shuts off when the car comes to a stop at traffic lights and stop signs. Suddenly, the cabin becomes eerily quiet. It’s as if the car has just stalled, but the headlights stay bright. The fan slows marginally, and a little green light on the dash begins to flash “Auto Stop.”

The engine stays off as long as the driver’s foot is on the brake. As soon as the foot comes off, the engine runs again, instantaneously. What’s remarkable is that the motor doesn’t seem to need starting, and it’s the same when starting the car in the morning: Turn the key and the engine just comes on, seemingly without ever turning over.

This transition from electric-assist to internal combustion works effortlessly thanks to a thin sheaf of a motor-generator that lives between the engine and transmission. Honda calls it Integrated Motor Assist. We call it intelligent.

The IMA system does most of its work by contributing 100 pound-feet of torque under acceleration so the gasoline engine doesn’t have to work so hard. Perhaps its fanciest trick, however, is its ability to capture the energy of motion that would normally be lost as heat to the brakes during deceleration, sending the energy back to the battery in the rear so it can be stored and used again.

The battery, even lighter, smaller and more efficient than that in the Civic Hybrid, still consumes a few cubic feet of trunk space, bringing the total available cargo area down to 11.2 cubic feet.

The battery and its cooling system also prevent the rear seatbacks from folding forward, making it difficult to haul longer items. There is still room for a compact spare tire, however. Curb weight on the Hybrid is only 52 kilograms more than the EX.

Another fuel-saving trick on the Hybrid is its ability to send the rear bank of three cylinders on holiday when power is not required, say, when coasting, cruising along the highway or decelerating.

A green “ECO” light on the dash comes on when the engine goes into this half-time mode, called Variable Cylinder Management. In our silver press car, however, there was an ever-so-slight vibration that could be felt when the engine was in the inherently rough three-cylinder mode, though other reviewers say it’s not noticeable.

Electronic engine mounts and an “anti-noise system” played through the stereo speakers are designed to compensate for the transition to three cylinders, but the setup did not feel as seamless as intended, nor as smooth as the gasoline-only V-6.

The only other objection about this Accord is the hard front seats, which give good support but offer little in the way of comfort.

At the end of the day, however, Honda engineers have managed to package highly complicated hybrid technology into a car that hardly seems any different than a regular Honda sedan. They have made the complex seem simple — always a hallmark of leadership.

The only hurdle now is to make the price of the V-6 Hybrid — $36,990 — the same as a regular Accord EX, $33,600, so there’s no penalty for anyone who wants a new car and help save the environment, too.